Vote With Your Wallet

One of the most powerful ways you can change the world is by voting for the world you want with what you buy. Through money - what you do or do not buy - each transaction (or boycott) pushes the world in a different direction. Do you want to contribute to more waste, pollution, habitat destruction, climate change, poor working conditions? Or do you want to support companies who minimize their emissions, use biodegradable packaging, source materials responsibly, provide safe working conditions and pay living wages?

Be the change you wish to see in the world - spend your dollars as ethically as possible.

Corporations: Make Money

The corporate goal is to make profit above everything else. This means most corporations will prioritize their own income far above what is necessary to protect the environment, animals and workers. There are a new breed of businesses that are starting to appear, which attempt to balance profit with other priorities. Examples:

Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit

B-Corporations: Must meet social sustainability and environmental standards to be certified

When you need to buy something, purchasing from BETTER corporations is always ideal. However, if there is ever a choice between buying or not buying something you don't fully need, it's better NOT to buy it.

The Positive Impact of Ethical Spending

STEP 1:
Customer makes an ethical purchase

STEP 2:
The Good Ripple Effect begins

STEP 3:
This company can continue providing good products

You buy an ethically-made product, one that:

Does minimal harm to the environment
Was made by workers in safe working conditions, paid a fair wage
Did not harm animals
In fact, it could have even helped the environment, animals or people, especially if the company donates a lot to charity or has their own initiatives.

Here are some examples of the impact you could have:

You have contributed to someone's livelihood, likely in a country where not all jobs are safe or paid fairly. The worker who made your item can now better afford their living expenses and have a better life compared to if this job did not exist.
You may have helped the environment, through the company's initiatives like planting trees, removing waste from the ocean, etc. You may have protected the environment from toxic chemicals by buying organic, non-GMO, etc.
You may have protected animals by buying products that do not use animal testing (bonus: the ingredients used are likely already known to be safe for humans too)! You may have protected animals by buying vegan, or buying only ethically-produced animal products. You have helped protect them from cruelty, harm, and lives of sadness through this simple choice.

By supporting companies that choose to help humans, workers, animals and the environment (EVEN when they have to price their products higher and are less likely to make as much profit as their competitors), you are enabling this company to continue producing minimally harmful products. Instead of supporting the status quo corporations who sacrifice the wellbeing of humans, animals and the environment for monetary gain, you are supporting companies who at least give some priority to treating living beings more kindly. This allows others to support these companies too, rather than them going out of business due to lack of customers.

You have more impact than you think - so start now.